1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to shower arrangements, and more particularly to controls for showers usable by the disabled and particularly by persons who must be seated while showering.
2. Preliminary Discussion and Description of Related Art
Showering rather than taking baths has become the norm for the American public to the extent that one almost never, or, at least, hardly ever, hears an individual state “I took a bath” or “I am going to take a bath”. Instead the speaker almost invariably states “I took a shower” or “will take a shower”. Showers are now indeed ubiquitous with the American public. Yet, for those who are physically handicapped by leg, hip, balance or certain neurological impediments preventing them from standing and from moving around sufficiently or sufficiently easily to expose various portions of their body to the spray of water from a showerhead or shower installation, or who are too unsteady on their feet or slow to recover their balance after a minor slip or unsteadiness, the process of showering can be formidable unless such persons have the aid of another party such as a mate, relative, nursing aid or the like.
Yet many, if not most, disabled persons prefer, like nearly everyone else, to shower in private, even though they may have difficulty in getting into or out of the shower installation, particularly where as in most older homes the shower is a combined full bathroom facility in an upstairs location, frequently attached to a master bedroom or in a downstairs bathroom or the like. In some cases, there may not be room for a disabled person to be able to sit down in a plastic chair or on other specially designed shower seat of a type available on the market (usually placed on the bottom surface of a tub, straddling the sides of the tub, or the like) to facilitate bathing by the disabled, preferably by showering. Even further, if the disabled person is unable to stand without aid, either due to lack of strength, lack of balance or disabling injuries to their legs and hips or back, they have no alternative but to sit during showering. Otherwise, an aid must be present to help support them in a standing position while showering, which, as pointed out above many persons consider an invasion of privacy and demeaning because it is an indication of a severe lack of independence, not to mention difficult for the person aiding the disabled in showering. Having another present during the actual process of showering also removes a large part of the usual relaxation and mental stimulation attained when showering as the result of massage of the body surface by stimulating hot liquids.
The usual shower installation is designed for use by persons standing in the shower, with the attainable angle of the showerhead being adapted for best spraying water on the body of an individual standing upright. In addition, the controls of the shower are usually secured to the wall of the shower stall in a position for use by a standing individual. An individual seated in a shower is not positioned, therefore, to readily reach or operate the controls or adjustments of a shower in the typical American shower installation. Furthermore, a seated individual who is disabled is not able to easily twist or turn his or her body to encourage the shower spray to be directed at substantially all parts of at least of his or her upper body.
This last problem mentioned above, i.e. directing the shower spray at all parts of the body, is often not as severe for continued use of a shower installation in many other countries as in the United States, since many foreign shower installations, including most European shower installations, are provided with a hand-held showerhead attached to a hose which the user can readily direct to different parts of his or her body. However, the American public is habituated to the use of directionally adjustable, but basically stationary, showerheads mounted on the wall under which the one taking the shower moves to catch the spray of water on various parts of the body. Furthermore, a salient feature of disabled persons and particularly newly disabled persons, which includes those disabled by reason of age, is that such persons prefer to maintain their life as much like their former active state as possible. Thus, while a European or continental hand-held showerhead arrangement could be installed at some expense for the disabled and otherwise physically challenged, and other family members would usually adjust to it, the disabled themselves prefer to maintain their shower installations as much like before as possible and in the United States this involves the usual wall mounted shower head.
As a result of the above considerations, a number of inventors have worked on providing shower arrangements for the disabled including or among which can be noted the patented inventions set forth below. Many of these prior arrangements are difficult for both disabled persons and non-disabled persons to use correctly and consistently. The present inventor, therefore, has developed a pivoting arm arrangement that can be readily attached to a standard showerhead or nozzle structure, which pivoting arm can be easily grasped by a disabled person seated in the shower installation and used to adjust and direct the showerhead to change the direction of the shower spray to reach various parts of such seated disabled person's body, but which pivoting shower adjustment arm can also be pivoted down out of the way of a non-disabled person using the same shower installation. In more advanced embodiments of the invention, the pivoting arm shower control is provided with further control means such as a rotary knob controlling the spray of the showerhead and the relative flow of hot and cold water, the latter being particularly important if there are other users of water in the household such as for flushing toilets, operating clothes or dishwashers or the like at the same time and if a hot water tank-type system is used, and the water may gradually become colder during use in contra distinction to the operation or the intended operation of a demand-type hot water system. In addition, in some embodiments the force of the shower can be varied as well as the force of the water spray adjusted by the same hand controls.
As a result of use of the present invention, a second person need only initially place a plastic or other light chair in the shower if the disabled person is unable to do so, and then aid the disabled showerer into and out of the shower if this is too much for the showerer. Known shower installations for the disabled also frequently have the disadvantage that the controls provided for use by a disabled person are inconvenient for nondisabled persons, so that the convertibility of the shower between use for those who may be disabled and those who may be less physically challenged may be less than desirable. When the arrangement of the present invention is available, in fact, some non- or less-physically challenged persons may prefer to shower while seated using the installation of the invention.
3. Prior Art Known to the Inventor
The inventor is aware of the following patents relating to shower incorporating control arms and/or designed especially for the disabled:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,073 issued to C. B. Larson et al. on Nov. 26, 1963, entitled “Flexible Spot Rinsing Head for Shower Baths”, discloses a shower head having a standard nozzle and further having separately connected a flexible hose for spot washing or rinsing. A short handle (33) having forward, up, back, and down positions is provided wherein the water supply either flows through the standard nozzle, spot washing hose, both, or neither. Such handle is quite short, however, and clearly is not intended to be reached by a handicapped person who is unable to stand while taking a shower.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,289 issued to E. Jette on Jun. 16, 1981 entitled “Showerhead Spray Texture Control”, discloses a showerhead wherein the flow of water, direction of spray, and spray texture may be controlled using an elongate rod. The flow or water supply into the showerhead and through a discharge port may be shut off or turned on depending on the angle of the showerhead in relation to the discharge port. A ball structure is provided on the end of the handle which is separate from the elongate rod and includes a sleeve over such rod. The sleeve has a gear on its upper end that is connected to a ring gear on the showerhead, which allows the spray texture to be controlled by turning of the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,612 issued to J. L. King on Aug. 11, 1981, entitled “Adjustable Shower and Massage Apparatus”, discloses an arrangement that allows the direction of spray emitted from a shower head to be adjusted using a handle means. A plurality of pipe members is pivotally connected together extending generally vertically, with a massage type shower head connected to one pipe member, and a handle member connected to a lower pipe member. Movement of the handle causes the angles of the pipes to be adjusted through universal adjustable joints between the individual pipe members, thereby causing the spray angle to also in turn be adjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,279 issued to E. Jette on Jan. 19, 1982, entitled “Water Flow Control Device for a Showerhead”, is a continuation-in-part application of the '289 Jette patent, and is directed to an alternative showerhead water flow control arrangement. A fitting is threadably connected to the water supply line, a tubular center portion having a swivel means connects the fitting to the showerhead, and a control rod is connected to the fitting. The rod has a valve therein which is aligned with the new main water flow passage through the fitting. By moving the control rod so that it is either aligned or misaligned with the main water flow passage, the rate of water flow may be controlled. As in the earlier Jette patent the handle can also be used to determine the direction or position of the showerhead.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,668 issued to E. Jette on Aug. 16, 1983, entitled “Showerhead Control” is another continuation-in-part application of the previous Jette patents, and discloses a showerhead having a downwardly extending handle connected thereto. This invention includes a shower arm connected to a water supply, a ball valve connecting the shower arm to a showerhead, and a handle connected to the ball valve. Movement of the handle may be used to adjust water flow direction and temperature as well as to shut off the water flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,282 issued to E. J. George et al. on Nov. 21, 1989, entitled “Adjustable Shower Head”, discloses a shower head adjustment means specifically for use by the handicapped. The device is operated by a joystick mounted in the shower assembly within easy reach of one seated in the shower stall, and which joystick is connected to the showerhead by a cable means. Movement of the joystick causes the shower head to move in a like direction as the joystick via four control cables, which are connected to a yoke or panel in the joystick housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,697 issued to W. T. Birchfield on Jun. 22, 1993, entitled “Handle Assembly for Shower Nozzle Assembly”, discloses a shower handle assembly for use by handicapped persons in a shower stall to adjust the height of a shower nozzle, which may be either retrofitted to an existing shower nozzle or used with a new shower nozzle assembly. Birchfield connects a handle assembly over a clamp to a vertically adjustable shower assembly so that one seated on a chair in the shower stall can use the handle to loosen, reposition, and retighten the shower nozzle assembly at a new desired vertical position. Birchfield's invention is not intended to be used to adjust the angle of the spray emitted from the shower nozzle, but rather to adjust the height of the nozzle assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,651 issued to S. G. Marder et al. on Jul. 19, 1994, entitled “Bathing Apparatus for the Infirm”, discloses a shower stall unit specifically arranged to be easily used by the infirmed or elderly including various handles, a seat, a pivotable support bar, and a shower nozzle connected to a hose at a fairly low height. The shower nozzle arrangement includes a swivel mounted on a support member, a handle, a shower mast and a nozzle. Moving the handle and swivel member causes the spray nozzle to move rearwardly and forwardly in relation to the bather, enabling the bather to rinse his or her entire body without physically moving around. Marder incorporates a continental-type of hand-held showerhead into an overall arrangement for bathing elderly or inferior persons.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,767 issued to M. Morand on Mar. 19, 1996, entitled “Shower Head Having Elongated Arm, Plural Nozzles, and Plural Inlet Lines”, discloses a showerhead having an elongated arm attached thereto with a swivel joint connected to the back of the arm, and the showerhead connected to the front of the arm. Spray from the nozzle can be directed by grasping the lower end of the arm near and then pivoting and/or tilting the arm about the swivel joint. In another embodiment, a control valve is provided in the arm for turning the water on and off, a second shower nozzle is provided on the bottom end of the arm, and a third nozzle is provided in the middle of the arm. A variable spray arrangement is also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,220 issued to T. L. Grubb on Nov. 13, 2001, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Converting a Faucet to a Hand-Held Shower”, discloses a flexible hose apparatus which is connected to a shower head so that it may be used as a hand-held shower rather than a conventional shower. Grubb thus basically attaches a continental showerhead attachment for an American shower system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,621 issued to J. Vogel on Nov. 5, 2002, entitled “Water Control Apparatus for Showers”, discloses a valve assembly connected between a showerhead and a water source and also including a downwardly extending operating means in the form of a rod for adjusting the flow of water without using the conventional hot and cold taps. Vogel claims that this arrangement conserves water by decreasing wasted water during use, and generally discloses a downwardly extending handle connected to a shower assembly for adjusting the amount of spray, rather than the direction of the spray.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,872 issued to C. Fan on Sep. 16, 2003, entitled “Controlling Device for a Showerhead”, discloses a shower head including a push valve, a controlling valve, and a collar for aiding a short person or child in controlling the shower head. The showerhead assembly has a first water outlet leading to a shower nozzle and a second outlet leading to a water dispenser. The push rod is used essentially to control the path of water into either the first outlet or second outlet. While the Fan reference teaches a downwardly extending control rod connected to a shower assembly, the rod is not used to change the direction or angle of the spray emitted from a shower nozzle, but rather to control the path of the water through the shower assembly.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 360,022 issued to L. A. Smith on Jul. 4, 1995, entitled “Combination Bathtub and Shower Unit and Seat for Handicapped and Elderly Persons”, shows an ornamental design for a shower assembly having a seat and a manual shower hose.
None of the aforementioned prior art or any other prior art with which the present inventor is familiar includes the use of an extended pivoting rod or handle which may be used to control in one embodiment the direction of the water issuing from the showerhead and in another embodiment the force of such water and preferably also the temperature of such water. Nor are there any arrangements which can be easily and inexpensively substituted for or attached to an existing shower system.